Star or Slave
by Superdollhouse
Summary: Stacey is a bleach blonde, fake tanned, spoiled brat from the privileged side of life. But when her friends and she are kidnapped by Vaas and his gang of cruel pirates while on vacation in Thailand. Can she man up and fight back or will this walking cliche meet her doom?
1. Taken

Stacey knew the moment she met that Doug fellow at that wild nightclub, that something was strange about that guy. He pretty much had his eyes glued to her the entire time she was there, although she didn't mind it. Her extremely wealthy father had paid for this whole trip for her and her friends and if some guy wanted to her admire her physical assets then who is she to complain? It wasn't until later when he approached her and her friends to chat. The usual conversation turned interesting when he told the group about an island 'where you can do anything'. That's when things got a little crazy.

Scratch that, "crazy" doesn't even begin to explain what went down.

* * *

_Run, just run._

Stacey sprinted through the thick jungle, or more like stumbled through. She looked like a stereotypical horror movie victim. Young, slim, bleach blonde hair, fake tits, tight wet tank top, tiny shorts, the mascara running down her cheeks from the tears seeping out of her eyes. Hey, she is a Hollywood native. They are pretty much stereotypes of themselves.

It had all been a set up. The Doug guy was working for a bunch of drug smuggling, human trafficking, pirates. And not the fun Jack Sparrow kind, no the legit modern pirates that you see on the news. Definitely not the fun kind.

They ambushed Stacey and her friends when they arrived on one of the islands out of all the clusters that scattered around that whole area. Stacey, somehow, managed to evade them and escape into the jungle while they got her friends.

She wasn't a runner, and she realized quick that sooner or later they were gonna catch her.

"Holy Shit!" Stacey screeched as a bullet quickly whipped past her, hitting a nearby tree instead.

"I see her!" She heard a male shout from behind.

Another bullet flew right past her head.

_No, no, oh fuck!_

Crazy thoughts flew into Stacey's mind and she felt her life flash before her eyes. Before she knew what was going on, her foot misplaced a step and she tumbled forward, her face smashing roughly into the dirt.

_Of course_. _The award for clumsiest girl in the world goes to: DING DING DING! Stacey Sanders! Congratulations!_

Stacey lifted her head up with a loud groan. Strands of her light blonde hair sat in front of her face, covered in dirt. Hell, she was covered in dirt all over.

"God my clothes are ruined!" She whined, glancing down at her mud soaked expensive purple top. She shook her head then, realizing she had bigger, more serious problems now, like avoiding getting her head shot off by maniac pirates.

Stacey flipped onto her back quickly, sitting up, as she heard the footsteps approach her. Three men, all in bizarre camouflaged clothing and bandanas walked towards her. That wasn't the worst part though, as they all three were armed with large Ak-47, with hunting knives and other weapons visible.

Her eyes widened at the abundant collection of dangerous weapons.

She gulped and stared up at them,"Pl-please don't sho-shoot me. I uh I go-"

"Oh shut up." The one on the far left spoke in a deep accent, "Just cooperate and maybe we won't blow your head off." He sounded annoyed, as if he heard pleas such as hers all before.

Stacey nodded quickly, "Ok."

One of the men then leaned down and roughly pulled her up by the arm and lead her towards the area they came from.

She tried her best to come off as unafraid as she walked with them, but it was difficult when three pirates dragged you through the jungle with large guns pointed at your head. The three men led her out of the jungle and into a clearing where a dirt road sat with a red jeep parked. They forced her into the back not before tying her hands behind her back so she couldn't escape. Two of the men sat in the front while the other sat across from her in the back watching her. And with that they drove on down the dirt path.

The tears were threatening to spill out again as she thought about her situation but she fought back and relaxed her mind into a happy place. Stacey imagined herself back at home in Hollywood. She still lived with her parents in a large home in a upper class neighborhood, as her "career" as an singer hasn't worked out to well for her to move out and make a living. Meaning she wasn't a good actor or singer, at all. Her parents paid for professional singing lessons as a child, but well, she just wasn't cut out for it.

_Maybe I'll be a stripper instead, I like dancing and I like flirting with men._

Her occupation thoughts were cut off as the jeep approached what looked like a rundown shanty town. It was a rather large area with small watch towers and men in uniforms just like the ones who took her scattered around the whole place.

The huts in the compound ranged from small to large, makeshift to well built. It definitely wasn't the kind of buildings that Stacey was used to seeing. No highrises or Hollywood mansions around here that's for sure.

They parked the car and cut the engine and got out. The man who sat across from her stood and grabbed her by the arm, roughly pulling her out of the car. As he led her though the compound, Stacey realized how troubling the actual situation at hand was. The pirates eyed her with curiosity as she was led through. Some made cat-calls, others made threats, and some just stared blankly. Sweat ran down her forehead, a girl like her was used to attention from men, but viscous pirates? No thanks.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked worryingly at her captor as he continued to guide her.

The man glanced down at her and smirked wickedly. "It's probably best you see it for yourself."

Stacey furrowed her brow at his answer, but continued to walk silently with a growing worry building up in her already unsettled mind. Her breath caught in her throat when she noticed the cages, with living people inside them. They were makeshift, made of bamboo tied together. Each contained two or more people tied to the bars inside by their arms. Women, men, children, some were crying, some were sitting still with numb expressions on their faces, others were asleep, or maybe even dead. They all had tore up, mud and blood stained clothes.

"What the Fuck?" Stacey blurted out as she saw the captives. Now the tears started flowing out. "What kind of place is this?!" She squirmed her arm to get away from her captor. He frowned as he noticed her attempts.

"Stop fucking moving!" He shouted as she continued to fight.

"Screw you!" Stacey screamed and slammed her foot onto his.

"Fuck!" The man yelled in pain, his grip loosened just enough so she was able to slip out of his hold.

Stacey sprinted forward fast but was quickly and violently snatched back by her hair and thrown backward onto the dirt ground by her now pissed off captor.

"Stupid Bitch!" Was the last thing she heard before she was kicked roughly in the face. Her vision went scarce and before she knew it she blacked out.

* * *

**A/N: Just want to make something clear. This isn't going to be a romance.**


	2. This doesn't look good

**Alright so if you've been following this story from chapter one you're probably wondering why I completely re-edited chapter 2 and replaced it with this. The reason is that I wasn't quite satisfied with it and I felt it mimicked Jason Brody's capture in the Far Cry 3 intro a little too closely. And copying off something is the last thing I want to do. So I'm sorry if you thought the original chapter 2 was good or better, but it is my story and I feel this is a better route for it to go for Stacey's journey.  
**

** So yea, I promise I won't post a chapter and delete it again :-)**

**Thanks for reading, hope you understand.**

* * *

When you wake up from a severe head injury. The first thing you feel is confusion, next you feel the extreme sting in your skull from the wound. And that's when you remember the situation which brought the gash. And right then and there, you realize how fucked you are when it comes to your survival rate at the predicament at hand.

"Ugh what the hell happened?" Stacey quietly moaned to herself as she started to come to consciousness. Her whole body throbbed and she had a killer headache. "That must of been some crazy party." Suddenly the recollection of what got her into being passed out flew through her, and her whole body quickly tensed up.

After a few minutes of silence, Stacey finally found enough courage and cracked her eyes open ever so slowly. She wasn't greeted with a very welcoming image. Darkness flooded her pupils are soon as she opened her eyes, which took some rather adjusting to. She was in a very tiny room, or hut so to say. The wooden walls were chipped and worn-down but solid, the only light source was that of the cracks on the walls of the cheap wood which really didn't let much sunlight in anyway.

Her thin body was leaned up against one of the corners of the small room.

A rather loud involuntary groan emitted from Stacey's lips as she felt the pulsating pain of the sore on her forehead from when the enraged pirate had kicked and knocked her out. As her senses started to came back, she heard the sound of muffled male voices coming from behind the wooden door of the tiny room which quickly made her silence herself, hoping they didn't hear her groan before. She couldn't quite make out the words but it was obvious who they were.

_Oh shit, more pirates._

She felt drowsy and dizzy from the gash on her forehead, and her eyelids had trouble staying open as they were filled with tears which she tried to blink back quickly.

_No. no. Don't cry, it's going to be ok..._

She attempted to lift her hands up to rub her tired eyes but was shocked when she felt her arms behind her back, bonded together tightly with rope which dug into her frail skin. Stacey squirmed her whole body, but it was no use, the ropes were tide in an extremely skilled knot. The improper angle to which she was passed out tied together leaned against the wall definitely contributed to her sore body.

Stacey frowned as she saw that damage to her clothes. Her purple tank top was torn from the bottom with loose strings everywhere. Her newly bought jean shorts were soaked with mud and grime and her shoes, well, she had lost her flip-flops the moment she ran off into the jungle when the pirates had attacked her and her friends.

That raised the question, Where were her friends? Were they ok? Did the pirates take them here too? Stacey had never really been all that close to the group of four that she went with on her tropical vacation to Thailand. They were all middle-class unlike herself and she always figured they just hung out with her because she was filthy rich. Of course, that didn't mean she didn't care about their safety, Stacey could be a snarky bitch sometimes but she wasn't a heartless bitch. She at least hoped they were in a better situation then she was at the moment.

Stacey jumped when she heard another groan emit through the room. She squinted her clear blue eyes into the subtle darkness in the direction it came from. There she was shocked to see a young woman, just like herself, her hands tied behind her back in the far corner across from her. The girl had shoulder length dark hair and wore more modest clothes then Stacey, and she was much more muscular and fit looking. She also looked older too, in around her late twenty's.

_How did I not notice her before?_

Another groan, she must be coming to consciousness. After a few more moans and whines, the woman lifted head up groggily. She possessed a extremely confused expression at first, glancing at her surroundings with a lack of understanding. It wasn't until Stacey spoke up did she seem to come to her full senses of the situation.

"He-hello?" Stacey whispered enough for her to hear from across the room. "Are you ok?"

The woman's head shot towards her, startled. She must of not noticed her until then and she started blankly for a few seconds before speaking up, "I think so. Where the hell did those goddamn savages take me?" She glanced around the small room.

"You have to be quiet." Stacey whispered quickly and nodded towards the door, to where the sounds were. The woman glanced towards the door and nodded back at her.

She then started to pull at the ropes which tied her but sighed deeply when she noticed it was no use. "Shit, those bastards sure do know how to tie a knot." She commented under her breath, realizing she couldn't break or rip them. She then lifted her head up and stared at Stacey. "How did you get here? Are you hurt?"

A small smile pulled at Stacey's capped lips at the sound of concern in the woman's voice. After being cursed and kicked at the last 24 hours it was nice having someone show a smidgen of kindness to her. Even if just for a second.

"We-well I was kicked pretty bad in the head." She answered, grimacing as she though back to the painful blow.

The woman nodded while listening and then spoke up, "What's your name?"

"Stacey."

"Linda."

Suddenly the door to the hut was slammed open, causing both woman to jump from shock. The light coming from the room flowed in and blinded the two for a second before their eyes quickly adjusted. There in the doorway, two rugged looking men in dirty red tops stood before them. The one on the left leaned down and hauled Stacey to her feet, causing her to emit a squeak of pain as her sore arms were lifted up and was she forced to stand. The second man then leaned down to grab Linda, and she willingly complied and made no noise as he pulled her to her feet. Just as the two were about the turn around with the women in hand, Stacey heard the sound of a loud crack, followed by the painful grunt of a male. Her head along with the pirate who accompanied her's head whipped around quickly to the sight of Linda, who stood now and had a blood stain on her forehead, with her pirate sprawled about the floor in front of her on his back groaning.

"That bitch fucking head-butted me!" The man on the floor screeched loudly.

The man who held Stacey growled, and suddenly tossed her backwards onto the wooden floor. He then lunged at Linda aggressively, shoving her to the ground and kicking her one time in the stomach, and then yanking her up by the hair. Stacey grunted as she slammed the floor, and tried to lift herself up but was roughly grabbed from behind and pulled to her feet by another pirate who then forced her to a wooden beam, where he quickly untied her arms and retied them to the beam.

The room they were pulled into was larger than the one she woke up in, and contained a makeshift bar and a few wooden tables and chairs, and it was slightly brighter than the previous. The pirate who had subdued Linda dragged her beaten body to another wooden beam across from Stacey, and tied her the same way as she was.

Stacey's eyes were quickly drawn to the commotion at the bar. There, sitting on a stool was a young blind-folded man, who looked obviously frightened. In front of him, stood a menacing figure. He dressed mostly just like the other pirates, a red top with dark pants. But this man gave off a more intimidating aura than the rest of the pirates. Stacey couldn't get a good look of his face as his back was turned facing away from her but she could recognize a dark black Mohawk cut on his head. His arms were on the captive man's shoulders, and he was speaking to him in a rather hushed voice which Stacey couldn't make out.

" Hey, I asked you a question, hermano. Have you ever played Russian Roulette?" The pirate suddenly raised his voice a little more louder to the man which Stacey could now hear him clearly.

The blind-folded man tensed up his body as the pirate asked him the question. His blindfold was soaked with tears and he was shaking from intense fear. "Wh-what?"

The pirate sighed loudly at the man's lack of participation," Did I fucking stutter, huh?" He growled and shoved the young man's face back with agitation. "Here's what were gonna do..."

The man cringed back as the pirate grabbed the back of his head and pulled it forward towards his own. He firmly grasped the side of the man's face, keeping him from moving. "I'm gonna take my gun, just this gun right here,"

..."C-C'mon man! What do you want from me?!" The young man cried as the pirate retreated a loaded handgun from his back pocket and held it up to the man's head.

He paid no mind to his cries and pulled the trigger quickly and without hesitation.

_Click..._

Stacey's eyes shot closed at the moment, anticipating the loud bang which was sure to come. But it strangely, never did. The only sound which did go off seconds after was the sound of the pirate laughing like he just heard the most hilarious joke in the world.

"Holy Fuck! You should of seen the look on your face, man! Fucking priceless shit right there." He cackled rather loudly, draping his arm around the blindfolded man's neck in an almost friendly gesture. The young man's face relaxed slightly, showing relief as he realized it had all been just a mind-game.

The pirate's laughter died down into a slight chuckle, "You know, you might be the biggest fucking pussy I ever met but I like you, hermano. I like you."

The young man nodded slightly, still overcome with anxiety from the last ordeal but a smidgen of hope suddenly filled inside him when he heard the pirate's words. Maybe he did have a chance out of this. Maybe.

The pirate spoke up again,"It's just too bad you don't know how Russian Roulette always _ends_..."

_BANG!_

Or maybe not.

Stacey's loud screams filled the hut as the blind-folded captive slammed to the wooden floor with a thud. The pirate glared at his dead body and spit on it, muttering to himself, before turning towards a terrified Stacey.

He smirked wickedly as he laid eyes on her form. The girl looked young, which was good, his buyers always preferred them young. And completely horrified, which made the pirate feel even more giddy inside.

"Is something wrong, Mami? We not havin fun, huh?" He snickered in false concern while he took his time approaching her from across the room. "It's just a little blood that's all, nothing to be worried about."

Stacey flinched back as far as her body would let her into the beam as the pirate approached her, silently hoping she would somehow be sucked in and pulled out of this horrid place. Her tear-ridden eyes were glued to him with fright and her heart felt as if it would jump out of her chest any second it was beating so loud.

She attempted to speak but all that came out was incoherent mumblings and stutters.

The man stopped in his tracks as he was right in front of her, uncomfortably close, and eyed her whole body up and down slowly taking in every feature. A low cat-call like whistle emitted from between his lips , "Well you sure are quite the looker aren't you?" He brought his hand up and caressed the side of her face with the handgun that not moments ago was used to shoot the innocent captive.

She shivered at the feel of the cool metal weapon against her cheek,"Ple-please-" Stacey attempted to beg but was cut off by him.

"Puh-puh-please Vaas, Please don't hurt me." He mocked her in a purposely girly voice. "I'll do whatever you want." He continued, causing a few of the other pirates who stood in the room to chuckle in amusement. His voice then returned to normal and he took on a warning tone,"Save the begging. You're gonna need it for later."

Stacey turned her head away from him then, she couldn't stand to look into his ominous eyes any longer. The only bright thing which came out of that was the fact that he revealed his name to her, not that knowing that information about him would benefit her survival rate in anyway.

"No, no, no _look_ at me when I speak to you." Vaas demanded sternly when she turned her face away from him. He lifted his hand up, gripping her chin with one hand to turn her head back to face him. "Got a name?"

Stacey tried her very best not to stutter,"Stacey. Stacey Sanders."

A smirk pulled at Vaas's lips, "Stacey Stacey Sanders... that's a weird fucking name, chica."

Stacey furrowed her brow at first at his comment, confused as to what he meant.

_Why did he repeat my first name twice- oh wait.  
_

This Vaas character sure liked to fuck with people's minds.

He obviously had already grown bored with her already as his hand quickly left her chin and he turned to face the other side of the room, where Linda stood tied to the opposite beam. He eyed her like a predator as he had done to Stacey before and approached her with the same sinister intent.

"So this is the feisty one, huh?" He referred to when she had head-butted one of the pirates earlier when they brought the two women out. To be honest he wasn't quite used to captives fighting back like that very often, at least not the female ones. He usually preferred when they were more submissive like the blonde Sanders girl, it made him feel more powerful. Like a god he controlled them using manipulative wit and force. Although the fiery ones weren't all that bad, as it was enjoyable to break them, fully turning them into a submissive drone who followed orders with no questions asked.

A bunch of his men had found the mysterious dark-haired girl wandering near the outskirts of one of the pirate camps armed with a hunting rifle and a old map of Rook island. He assumed she was some kind of poacher who heard about the exotic wildlife which resided on the islands and not wanting to waste a great opportunity for cash and animal skins, she traveled to the jungles of Rook, while also making the naive decision to go all by herself. Not a very clever choice on her part.

Unlike Stacey, Linda glared at Vaas as he approached, trying her best not to come off as frightened.

Although it didn't work on Vaas, who clearly saw through her mask of toughness and the raw fear which laid hidden inside her.

"You caused quite a bruise on my boy over there." He commented nonchalantly, nodding to the pirate who Linda had head-butted. The pirate, was sitting on one of the bar stools with a wet wash cloth in hand rubbing at his head wound, staring daggers at Linda.

"I think he deserves an apology, no?" Vaas smirked, trying his best to get on the woman's nerves.

Linda stayed completely silent with a hard expression on her face. She wasn't going to crack for some money-hungry pirate, not a chance.

Vaas jaw clenched slightly as the girl refused to comply. He quickly had his hand on her head and forced her to turn it towards the injured pirate, much to Linda's uttermost distaste.

"Go ahead, tell the nice man that you're sorry." He whispered in a eerily hushed voice.

Linda narrowed her eyes, "Not in a million years, asshole." She grumbled warningly.

Linda quickly shot her left knee up, aiming it at Vaa's stomach. Her knee then met his gut and slammed into it, causing Vaas to back away slightly stunned with an grunt of pain. Stacey half expected the cruel pirate to lash out at the brave Linda for hurting him, but was surprised when he only let out an amused laugh at her attack and took another step back towards her.

"We got a little fighter here, don't we?" He announced amusingly to his men. He cracked his neck and tilted his head at her, "I like that. You got spirit."

But almost instantly, like a wild beast, his demeanor quickly and swiftly changed into anger with the click of a switch, and his handgun was suddenly pressed roughly to the side of her skull with his other hand wrapped tightly around her thin neck in a matter of seconds.

"But if you _ever_ pull that fucking shit on me again-! He hollered loudly, only a mere few inches from her face. "I will hold you down and cut your fucking eyes out, Comprende?...This isn't some fucking tea party, and trying to be a little hero taking cheap shots isn't going to get you anywhere. " The warning didn't come off as a bluff at all, and was as convincingly menacing as he wanted it to be.

Linda stayed silent and didn't make a move. That tight hold on her neck only allowed for a very few tiny breaths of oxygen to slip through. It was obvious to her that provoking a maniac like him would do her no good, only leave her for dead. But the moment he laid his hands on her before just caused her to strike back instinctively.

A slight sweep on fear flowed through her as Vaas pulled away from her with an amused chuckle. She had encountered a lot of strange men in her life and line of work but the constant swift change of emotions which Vaas displayed was nothing she had seen before. This Vaas character was truly a unpredictable, psychotic fellow who shouldn't be taken lightly. It wasn't just his physical outward appearance, but the way he moved, the way he took control of the situation almost instantly was like something out of a horror movie. The animated hand-gestures, the thick black Mohawk, the narrow scar which ran across his forehead, his threats, were all enough to even cause a grown man to piss his pants.

Vaas clasped his hands together, snapping her out of her thoughts and back to him as he stood in front of her.

"So..." he turned to one of the pirates who sat on the bar stool and whistled at him to catch his attention, "Aye amigo, I want you to-"

He was suddenly interrupted by the sound of static and a incoherent voice. Vaas sighed rather disappointingly and reached his hand to his pocket, pulling out a walkie-talkie.

"What?!" He shouted rather annoyed into it. "I'm a little fucking busy here."

Vaas held the walkie-talkie up to his ear to listen to the voice. As he listened, his annoyed demeanor almost instantly turned from slightly shocked to apologetic.

"Oh shit, sorry Hoyt. I didn't know it was you." A frown pulled at Vaas lips, obviously embarrassed by his mess-up. If Linda wasn't in the situation she was in now she could almost find the humor in the whole thing.

Vaas continued to listen to the instructions which were given to him by the Hoyt fellow for a few more minutes, until putting the walkie-talkie back in his pocket with an annoyed grimace.

"Fucking prick." He muttered quietly under his breath, only loud enough for Linda to catch on.

Without giving anyone a second look he quickly stormed out of the hut with the rest of the pirates following behind.

As the door to the entrance was slammed shut, the hut was suddenly filled with pure utter silence.

Stacey who had been forcing herself to hold in the tears the entire time, almost instantly exploded in loud racking sobs.

Linda stared at the wooden floor, with a slight unsure expression painted on her face and in deep,deep thought.

* * *

**A/N: I feel that this was a better intro to Vaas than my first attempt. I got a lot of my inspiration from the beginning of the Far Cry Trailer "Stranded" which in my opinion is a freaking awesome video game trailer. Go check it out if you haven't seen it. The story is where Jason is taken and tied to a beam in a small rundown hut instead of the bamboo pen with Grant and then escapes then. And you know, I don't think the pirates would always lock up their captives in the bamboo cages, maybe the more special ones get hut privileges, uh well, that's just my guess. Linda is definitely coming off as the more stronger female of the two which was my full-intent. She is sort of supposed to be slightly mysterious in the introduction. I'm planning on making her for Stacey who Grant was to Jason Brody. and I personally thought Vaas having to apologize to Hoyt for unintentionally yelling at him was funny. Whether you wanna admit it or not, Vaas was Hoyt's little bitch pretty much throughout the whole game. Unfortunate but sadly true.  
**


	3. Cliches, cliches

Darkness fell over the compound rather quickly. The screeching sounds of jungle birds and howling monkeys were replaced with that of nocturnal frogs and chirping crickets. The night sky was filled with an abundant of stars and a lone moon that shined bright. The pirates who stayed in the compound, were up to their nightly activities. Those activities consisting of card games, watching TV, drinking, smoking, and just overall chat.

Stacey had cried herself into exhaustion and had to force herself to sleep still tied to the stiff beam. The sound of pirates chatting and drink glasses clinking could be heard from the shack and definitely set a large burden on her, as she wasn't used to sleeping in such hazard and loud conditions. There was no fan to block the sounds out, there was no lilac sheets to curl up into, no MP3 to listen to, only a thin line of chipped wood to rest her thin body against. She finally made herself block out the sound and went into a blissful state of her own inner thought, setting herself from the harsh reality which she was in and before she knew what was happening, she went out like a light.

She didn't remember how long she had lasted or when it happened but something was wrong. She felt someone near her, and they were touching her skin. At first it felt pleasant for Stacey, but then she remember the situation she was in before falling asleep, and her groggily eyes quickly shot open. Her blue eyes were flooded with the darkness of the night at first, but adjusted in a matter of seconds. She was greeted with the image of herself still tied to the chipped beam in the bleak hut. It was pitch black and she could barely see in front of herself though. But that's not all, suddenly, she felt the touching again, but they were located on her hands and arms where she couldn't see the intruder.

Stacey panicked at the feel of the cold skin on her's and retaliated in a loud shout, "Let go of me!" She kicked her legs forward and yanked at the bonds which tied her, desperate to break free.

Suddenly, the person moved in front of her and they quickly covered her open mouth with their right hand roughly, slamming Stacey's head back into the beam.

There was a moment of silence before the strange figure brought the finger of their other hand up to their lips, "Shhhh, you're gonna alert the pirates you idiot!" The voice whispered sharply, scolding Stacey.

Stacey went to say something, but her voice was muffled by the hand. "It's me, Linda." the voice spoke, which in turn made Stacey relax herself.

Stacey took a relieved deep breath, calm now that she knew the strange figure was actually Linda. Linda then went behind her again and began working at the ropes which tied Stacey to the beam. "How did you get out?" Stacey whispered to her.

"A pull there, and a quick tug, and I was free." Linda responded, still working patiently at Stacey's bonds.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Stacey asked in a hushed voice.

"In my line of work. You learn a few useful things." Linda replied simply.

"What was your job?"

Linda groaned, already annoyed with Stacey's whining voice and questions, "Look, let's cut the chit-chat for later. When we're actually safe and away from these lunatic pirates then we can discuss are occupations. Ok?"

Before Stacey could respond the sound of the front entrance being banged on echoed throughout the hut. Linda and Stacey both gasped, wide eyed and stared in the direction of the entrance. Two voices muffled voices could be heard outside, the door knob was being rattled and shook, obviously someone was trying to get in.

"Shit," Linda said while frantically pulling at Stacey's ropes. "They're coming."

Stacey's breath hitched in her throat. She needed to get out now, or it would be too late.

"Oh my God, Oh my god! Hurry up!" Stacey whispered in a panicked tone at Linda.

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" Linda shot back with anger. She pulled and ripped at the ropes frantically but it was no use. The knot was tied tight and the more she yanked at it the more it became tangled and unbreakable.

"Fuck." Linda grunted, realizing her efforts were useless and that the entrance was going to slam open any second, revealing her escape. She quickly shot up and sprinted forward, towards the small backroom she woke up tied in earlier in the day. She slid into the tiny room with ease, her body bruising on the cheap wood floor, and hid herself behind the wall, in the darkness where no one could detect her.

Stacey's eyes widened like saucers at seeing Linda's complete betrayal of her, "Wait! Where the fuck are you going?! Don't leave me!" She screamed loudly, the tears starting to bubble up in her eyes. She started to squirm her body, frantically pulling at her ropes with all her might. The bonds dug into her weak wrists, drawing blood and causing dark blue bruises to form.

Suddenly the door slammed open with a bang, causing Stacey to jump and emit a shrill squeak which escaped from her chapped lips. Two figures stood in the doorway and quickly marched in, slamming the door shut.

It was silent at first, before a light switch was flicked on. The cheap ceiling dangling bar lights flickered on, illuminating the room in a dim light. The two figures turned out to be who Stacey had expected.

_Pirates_

But thankfully they weren't with that psychotic leader, Vaas. That man had managed to create more fear inside her than any of these other pirates could even dream of accomplishing. But why were these two here now? It was very late at night, so it wasn't like she needed to be fed or anything.

One of the men held an almost empty liquor bottle in his hand, which made Stacey even more uneasy. Sober pirates are terrible enough but drunk pirates? She couldn't even imagine.

The liquor bottle one spoke up then, turning to his partner with a frown, "I thought you said there were two women? Where the fucks the other one?"

The other one shrugged and stared at Stacey, "I don't know. Guess I heard wrong. It don't matter though, this ones still good." He slurred as he stepped towards her with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Stacey gulped at hearing them say that, now their intentions were obviously clear. "Wai-wait, what are you doing?" Stacey asked in a frantic tone as one of the men approached her. She kicked her foot out at him, causing the closer man to jump back with an amused chuckle.

He glanced at his friend with a smirk, "This ones got a temper..."

The other one licked his lips, "I like the fighters."

They both surrounded her then, ignoring her pleas and screams.

"Don't touch me!" Stacey screamed, as one brushed his hand on her hip.

"Shut up!" His arm flew back and he backhanded her across the face roughly. Stacey's head flew to the left, a loud grunt emitting from her lips from the force.

He leaned in close to her then, the stench of alcohol and smoke filled her nostrils as he did so.

"Don't worry, baby," He whispered in her ear. "I'll be gentle."

He then started to loosen his belt.

Linda narrowed her eyes with rage at the sight of the two men who's backs were facing her's and without thinking, she quickly charged forward, blowing her cover in the back room and sprinted towards them. Running up behind one she yanked the hunting blade which sat inside the knife holster of his pants. Pulling it out quickly, Linda held her arm back and plunged it into the man's lower back with enough force to lodge it into his ribs. At first the man gasped with shock, then the gurgling sounds emitted from his mouth, followed by the dark red blood which flowed out from his lips. Linda ripped the knife out causing the man to fall forward onto his stomach. It had all happened so fast, and before the other pirate had time to react Linda threw the blade forward. It flew through the air before lodging and piercing into the pirate's neck, killing him instantly.

There was complete silence for a moment, as the now dead pirate collapsed to the floor with a thud. Linda glared as his corpse, breathing hard from the adrenaline built up in her body. She quickly went over to him, and yanked the knife out of his throat, causing some of the blood to shoot up and hit her face. She paid no mind to it and went back over to Stacey, who stood tied to the beam and shaking from fright.

Tucking the knife under Stacey's bonds, she yanked it up with force, quickly cutting through the ropes. Stacey brought her hands towards herself, and rubbed at the raw tissue surrounding her wrists. A small silent tear flowed down her face and she fell to her knees with a thud.

"Shit, shit, fuck this is too much." Stacey whispered to herself, with her hands digging roughly into the scalp of her head. Stands of coarse blonde hair covered her face, shielding herself.

Linda stared down at her sympathetically. Her anger from the two men had subsided, and was instead place with sorrow. When she saw the two pirates enter the room, she knew exactly what their intentions were. She wasn't stupid. They were obviously drunk and heard about the two female prisoners being held captive in the worn down shack. She had to plan out her tactics though, as to not alert the guards so they could yell for help. That was the last thing she wanted. So she waited, she waited having to hear the young woman's pleas and cries, until finally the two men had completely turned their backs. That's when she made her move. Running at high speed she quickly yanked the hunting blade out of one of the pirate's pockets and lodged it into his backside through his chest. And then thrusting it into the neck of the other.

It was something she learned from being a poacher, sometimes you got to hurt humans. Not often. But it did happen. People are just like animals, they all die the same way. Consuming that last single breath of air before going out. Linda has some experience with killing people, not all bad people like the two pirates, but not all good.

An inhuman sense of rage did fall over her at seeing the men attempt to force themselves on Stacey. In Linda's view, any man who attempts to rape a helpless woman shouldn't be allowed to be called a man at all.

Linda knelled down beside the fallen Stacey, "Shh, Stacey, calm down. It's going to be ok." Linda rubbed her back slightly for comfort.

Stacey's eyes glanced up at her. Her cheeks were a bright puffy red and her usually clear eyes were noticeably bloodshot. "Are they dead?" Was all she said in a hoarse voice.

Linda glanced over at the two bodies of the men. Neither of the men's corpses moved and both were drenched in blood, sprawled about the wooden floor. She looked back over at Stacy and nodded softly.

Stacey sniffed, "I'm scared."

"I know you are, frankly I don't blame you. But-" Linda suddenly stood up, tucking away the blood-soaked hunting knife into her pant's pocket." It would be best if we leave now, you know, before more pirates come."

"Why are they doing this?"

"I can't be too sure. From the looks of it, maybe, ransom or even worse, human-trafficking."

Stacey furrowed her brow, "Human-trafficking?"

Linda glanced down at her with a confused look, "Yes. It's like drug smuggling, but with humans."

Stacey stared up at her, she still didn't get it.

Linda sighed with irritation, "Ever seen the movie 'Taken'?"

"...Yea."

"Well, think of it as we're in the tropical version of 'Taken' right now. And unfortunately, Liam Neeson is not coming to save us."

Stacey gulped, frightened and with worry in her blood-shot eyes. "Wh-where do we go?" She asked, quickly changing the subject.

Linda frowned and stared ahead, she didn't really know where she would go once she escaped the pirate camp, only that it was safe to get out and get out quick. "Let's just make those decisions once we get out of this goddamn camp, Ok?" She then held her hand out for Stacey to grab on.

Stacey stared up at Linda's open hand in thought, before reaching her hand forward and gripping it. Linda pulled her up with a grunt and Stacey stood to her feet, still shaking from fright.

Linda sighed and patted her shoulder, "You got to be strong. I'm trusting you, Stacey." She needed to persuade the young girl to listen to her and follow her commands. In all honestly, Linda knew that leaving the girl behind and escaping herself was a much safer plan. She knew Stacey would only hold her back and cause more problems for her. But Linda figured she had already made it this far with her as it is, and abandoning her now would just be pointless on her part.

"Alright, this is what were gonna do." Linda crept towards the front door, the only entrance in the hut. Gripping the doorknob she slowly and steadily pulled it open and peaked her head out. A smirk rose on Linda's lips and she turned her head back to Stacey, "The coast is clear. Follow me very closely. And stay low." She whispered to Stacey from across the room.

Stacey nodded and got close behind her. The two then exited the hut with caution, their ears and eyes perked up for any sign of pirates. Luckily for them, none were in their line of vision. The hut they were in was located in a more tree surrounded area of the compound then the rest, giving the two women perfect coverage. Linda moved with caution and determination locked on her face, making sure to not make any noise whatsoever. Stacey on the other hand, was completely terrified and followed behind Linda like a obedient dog.

They crept cautiously by a few rundown huts and chatting pirates without getting caught. They had been sneaking for a few minutes before suddenly Linda stopped in her tracks.

She held her head up and eyed the surroundings. Stacey stared at her from behind with a confused expression. "Why'd we stop?"

Linda's hand shot up, signalling Stacey to be quiet. A few more seconds passed, before the sound of leaves crunching and foot-steps could be heard.

Linda's eyes widened, "Someone's coming." She quickly stood up and raced to her left to one of the other small buildings and hid crouched behind a large cargo box.

A small gasp came from Stacey and she quickly followed Linda's moves and hid. They kept quiet as the foot-steps grew louder. Turning the corner of a hut, a lone pirate walked across the worn path with a lit joint in hand. Linda and Stacey stayed silent as he trekked passed them, whistling a tone as he did so, and disappeared as he turned another corner.

A sigh of relief escaped Linda's lips, "That was too close." She stood began to move forward, not before being pulled back by the tug of Stacey's hand.

"Wait, I see an opening." Stacey informed her while pointing to a small gap between a wooden shanty and a large jungle tree, "Let's go through here, it's less risky then taking the path, right?"

A small grin pulled at Linda's lips at Stacey's finding. "Good eyes." She commented before slipping through the small opening and out onto the other side, with Stacey following behind.

A surge of happiness flew through both women as they came through the other side.

In front, was another small wooden shanty. To there left, blocking them, was a sturdy wooden fence while to their right was the green jungle, AKA freedom. A large grin grew on Linda's face at the sight of the rain forest which only sat a few yards away. It was right there, so simple, it was just right there waiting for them.

"Oh, this is too good." Linda smiled as she headed towards the trees. She stopped in her tracks when she didn't hear the footsteps of Stacey following behind. Linda quickly spun around at the sight of Stacey, on her knees and peeking through a medium sized hole in the wooden fence. Linda tilted her head with a confused look, "Stacey, get over here." She whispered sharply.

Stacey didn't answer, only continued to stare into the hole much to Linda's annoyance.

Linda huffed and quickly walk towards her, "What are you doing?"

She knelled down beside her, quickly pushing Stacey out of the way to peek through the small hole. "This better be something interesting."

What she was greeted with was anything but pleasant.

It was a medium-sized clearing, swarmed with a few dozen guarding pirates armed with large guns. Some lounged in cheap lawn chairs with bottles of alcohol in hand, others watched the ongoing show which took place on a wooden stage in the middle. On the stage were three captives resting on their knees, all with terrified and sorrow filled expressions planted on their faces. Standing before them with a handgun in hand was that lunatic from before. _Vaas._

Vaas sat knelled down in front of a sobbing male captive at his eye level, "You're worthless... You know that?"

Tears ran down the man's eyes as Vaas continued to speak.

"Nobody wants to buy you, hermano. You are nothing. You're less than the fucking dirt at my feet."

He still kept sobbing, much to Vaas' annoyance, "Why are you crying, hm?"

He didn't answer, causing Vaas to grow more irritated, "Answer me, you little shit." He roughly hit him across the head, causing the man to jerk back. "Why are you upset?"

The prisoner lifted his head up, blinking the tears back as he stuttered, "I-I'm sc-scared..."

A sly smirk grew on Vaas' lips, "And why is that?" He glanced at his gun and chuckled, "Is it this?" He then proceeded to press the gun to the man forehead, causing more cries to emit from the captive. Vaas leaned in towards him, "Do you fear dieing, is that it? Are you frightened to see what's on the other side?"

The man nodded quickly.

Vaas frowned and cocked his gun, "Well, looks like you're bout to have a bad fucking day, my friend."

_Boom! _The sound of a gun shot echoed loudly as Vaas offed the captive unexpectedly, arising cheers and amused chuckles from some of the watching pirates.

Linda shook her head in disgust. So this is what they did to people who didn't sell, huh? She didn't expect any less from these savage men.

Linda's eyes widened as they pulled another poor man onto the stage. This one look a lot younger then the rest, around early twenties, he was pale with shaved dark brown hair and could be overall good looking, if he wasn't of course covered with dirt, cuts, and blood. He looked absolutely terrified as two pirates dragged him onto the stage and forced him to his knees.

Vaas tilted his head, standing in front of the young man. "Your name's Curtis, right chico?"

This caused Stacey to gasp suddenly, quickly pushing Linda out of the way and looking through the hole. "Oh my God. Curtis?" She choked back tears as she recognized her friend.

Before Linda could stop her, Stacey had already started shouting loudly, "CURTIS! Let him go, you bastards!" She quickly climbed up one of the cargo crates which sat next to the tall wooden fence, giving her a full view of the stage and the pirates, while also giving them a full view of her.

It was like some kind of comedy, each pirate turned their head to face the direction of the voice, seeing a screaming Stacey over the fence waving her arms. She looked like a insane asylum patient, her blonde hair a crazy tangled mess, her black mascara smeared down her face, her purple top a ragged ripped mess.

Vaas stood like a statue, staring at the crazed women with a blank confused expression set on his face. Before it turned into full amusement.

Stacey suddenly silenced herself at the sight of the pirates all staring at her, armed to the teeth with weapons. It was deathly silent, the only sound was that of a cricket that must of thought it would be a good time to start chirping now.

Stacey gulped with eyes wide like saucers, "Uh-um.."

She screeched loudly as she was suddenly yanked back by her shirt and tumbled to the ground with a thud. Landing onto her back she was greeted by a furious Linda staring down at her with rage. If looks could kill, well, let's just say Stacey would be burning in hell right about now. Suddenly the sound of shouting pirates filled the air, followed by the ringing of bullets.

"Fuck!" Linda gripped Stacey by her arm, yanking her up and sprinted towards the direction of the jungle, running as fast as her legs could go. Bullets whipped past her head, inches from ramming into her skull. "Fuck! Fuck! Fucking Fuck!"

This was bad, this was so bad, nothing could be worse then this, nothing.

Linda was sprinting like a marathon runner as Stacey had trouble keeping up with her. She stumbled over a fallen branch but quickly caught herself and continued to follow Linda through the wild jungle. She felt like an idiot for alerting the pirates, but it was a heat of the moment thing. She wasn't thinking straight and seeing the recognizable face of her close friend made her forget about everything.

Between the sounds of loud footsteps, gun shots, her heavy breathing, and the jungles animals around her, Stacey's mind was in a state of panic, all reasonable thought blanked out for pure survival mode. Her bare feet smacked against the wet ground of the rainforest, the thorns of plants digging and cutting her toes. Her messy hair was being yanked out in clumps as it was caught in tree and bush branches, although she ignored all the pain. Her brain was only focused on one thing and one thing only.

Don't die.

* * *

**A/N: I feel like I go back and forth between humorous and serious scenes too often and too quick. Well, I guess just think of it like a Quentin Tarantino film, extreme violence, mayhem, and a couple comedic scenes. **


End file.
